Study on proteomic changes of lung blast injury in mice / 中华急诊医学杂志

Objective:To establish the lung blast injury model in mice, detect the proteomic changes of lung in mice at different time points, and explore the mechanism of lung blast injury.Methods:A total of 60 healthy male C57BL/6 mice were randomly (random number) divided into the control group, 12-h group after thorax blast, 24-h group, 48-h group, 72-h group and 1-week group ( n=10 each group). Experiments were carried out in the animal laboratory of the General Hospital of the Northern Theater Command. The model of lung blast injury in mice was established by using a self-developed precision blast device, and the lung tissue injury situation was evaluated by gross observation and HE staining. The proteins in mouse lung tissue were quantitatively analyzed based on LC-MS/MS proteomic technology, and the differentially expressed proteins were screened. On this basis, bioinformatics tool was used to analyze proteomic changes. Results:After lung blast injury, scattered bleeding spots could be observed on the surface of lung tissue of mice, and the bleeding points were gradually increased with time, showing a patchy distribution, and the symptoms were the most severe at 24 h. The results of HE staining showed that the normal tissue structure of alveoli disappeared at 12 and 24 h under light microscopy with diffuse bleeding in the alveolar cavity, infiltration of a large number of inflammatory cells, increased interstitial exudate, thickened alveolar wall, and collapsed and merged alveolar cavity. A total of 6 861 proteins were identified by LC-MS/MS in lung tissue samples of mice after thorax blast, and 608 differentially expressed proteins were quantified, of which 227, 140, 202, 258 and 71 differential proteins were at 12 h, 24 h, 48 h, 72 h, and 1 week, respectively. According to GO analysis, 130 biological process subtypes including cell adhesion, extracellular matrix tissue and collagen fibril tissue were obtained. Besides, 66 cellular component involving extracellular exosomes, extracellular matrix and cytoplasm were obtained. And 43 molecular functional subclasses such as extracellular matrix structure composition, actin binding and antioxidant activity were obtained. KEGG analysis yielded 24 pathways including ECM-receptor interactions, focal adhesions and PI3K-Akt signaling pathway across the endothelium.Conclusions:Differentially expressed protein combinations are also different at different time points in the early stage after lung blast in mice, and the injury mechanism is complicated. The lung blast injury is the most serious at 12-24 h after blast and produces significant inflammatory response.

Development and External Validation of a Prognostic Tool for COVID-19 Critical Disease

BackgroundThe rapid spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) revealed significant constraints in critical care capacity. In anticipation of subsequent waves, reliable prediction of disease severity is essential for critical care capacity management and may enable earlier targeted interventions to improve patient outcomes. The purpose of this study is to develop and externally validate a prognostic model/clinical tool for predicting COVID-19 critical disease at presentation to medical care. MethodsThis is a retrospective study of a prognostic model for the prediction of COVID-19 critical disease where critical disease was defined as ICU admission, ventilation, and/or death. The derivation cohort was used to develop a multivariable logistic regression model. Covariates included patient comorbidities, presenting vital signs, and laboratory values. Model performance was assessed on the validation cohort by concordance statistics. The model was developed with consecutive patients with COVID-19 who presented to University of California Irvine Medical Center in Orange County, California. External validation was performed with a random sample of patients with COVID-19 at Emory Healthcare in Atlanta, Georgia. ResultsOf a total 3208 patients tested in the derivation cohort, 9% (299/3028) were positive for COVID-19. Clinical data including past medical history and presenting laboratory values were available for 29% (87/299) of patients (median age, 48 years [range, 21-88 years]; 64% [36/55] male). The most common comorbidities included obesity (37%, 31/87), hypertension (37%, 32/87), and diabetes (24%, 24/87). Critical disease was present in 24% (21/87). After backward stepwise selection, the following factors were associated with greatest increased risk of critical disease: number of comorbidities, body mass index, respiratory rate, white blood cell count, % lymphocytes, serum creatinine, lactate dehydrogenase, high sensitivity troponin I, ferritin, procalcitonin, and C-reactive protein. Of a total of 40 patients in the validation cohort (median age, 60 years [range, 27-88 years]; 55% [22/40] male), critical disease was present in 65% (26/40). Model discrimination in the validation cohort was high (concordance statistic: 0.94, 95% confidence interval 0.87-1.01). A web-based tool was developed to enable clinicians to input patient data and view likelihood of critical disease. Conclusions and RelevanceWe present a model which accurately predicted COVID-19 critical disease risk using comorbidities and presenting vital signs and laboratory values, on derivation and validation cohorts from two different institutions. If further validated on additional cohorts of patients, this model/clinical tool may provide useful prognostication of critical care needs.

The disproportionate rise in COVID-19 cases among Hispanic/Latinx in disadvantaged communities of Orange County, California: A socioeconomic case-series

BackgroundRecent epidemiological evidence has demonstrated a higher rate of COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths among minorities. This pattern of race-ethnic disparities emerging throughout the United States raises the question of what social factors may influence spread of a highly transmissible novel coronavirus. The purpose of this study is to describe race-ethnic and socioeconomic disparities associated with COVID-19 in patients in our community in Orange County, California and understand the role of individual-level factors, neighborhood-level factors, and access to care on outcomes. MethodsThis is a case-series of COVID-19 patients from the University of California, Irvine (UCI) across six-weeks between 3/12/2020 and 4/22/2020. Note, Californias shelter-in-place order began on 3/19/2020. Individual-level factors included race-ethnicity status were recorded. Neighborhood-level factors from census tracts included median household income, mean household size, proportion without a college degree, proportion working from home, and proportion without health insurance were also recorded. ResultsA total of 210-patients tested were COVID-19 positive, of which 73.3% (154/210) resided in Orange County. Hispanic/Latinx patients residing in census tracts below the median income demonstrated exponential growth (rate = 55.9%, R2 = 0.9742) during the study period. In addition, there was a significant difference for both race-ethnic (p < 0.001) and income bracket (p = 0.001) distributions prior to and after Californias shelter-in-place. In addition, the percentage of individuals residing in neighborhoods with denser households (p = 0.046), lower levels of college graduation (p < 0.001), health insurance coverage (p = 0.01), and ability to work from home (p < 0.001) significantly increased over the same timeframe. Conclusions and RelevanceOur study examines the race-ethnic disparities in Orange County, CA, and highlights vulnerable populations that are at increased risk for contracting COVID-19. Our descriptive case series illustrates that we also need to consider socioeconomic factors, which ultimately set the stage for biological and social disparities.

Cerebral infarction as the first symptom in acute promyelocytic leukemia: A case report and literature review / 中南大学学报(医学版)

In the clinical settings, disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) and complications such as hemorrhage are commonly seen in acute promyelocytic leukemia patients, whereas thrombosis is rarely reported. We reported a case here that the patient presented with cerebral infarction as the first manifestation. During the admission, the patient encountered differentiation syndrome, pulmonary embolism, pulmonary hemorrhage, and myocardial ischemia, as well as bleeding and thrombosis complications. Hence the patient was diagnosed as DIC. After the treatment of blood transfusion instead of anticoagulation, his condition was stable and the remission was completely achieved. The treatment experience provides guides for other patients with similar complications of simultaneous bleeding and thrombosis.

Modeling and analysis of volume conduction based on field-circuit coupling / 生物医学工程学杂志

Numerical simulations of volume conduction can be used to analyze the process of energy transfer and explore the effects of some physical factors on energy transfer efficiency. We analyzed the 3D quasi-static electric field by the finite element method, and developed A 3D coupled field-circuit model of volume conduction basing on the coupling between the circuit and the electric field. The model includes a circuit simulation of the volume conduction to provide direct theoretical guidance for energy transfer optimization design. A field-circuit coupling model with circular cylinder electrodes was established on the platform of the software FEM3.5. Based on this, the effects of electrode cross section area, electrode distance and circuit parameters on the performance of volume conduction system were obtained, which provided a basis for optimized design of energy transfer efficiency.

Pharmaceutical Care in Patients with Non-controlled Asthma:Investigation on 70 Cases / 中国药房

OBJECTIVE: To define the future tasks of pharmaceutical care in asthmatic patients in order to improve pharmaceutical care. METHODS: A questionnaire survey was conducted on 70 outpatients with non-controlled asthma and the data obtained were analyzed statistically. RESULTS: 20.00% of the patients investigated used only controller medications and 10.00% used only reliever medications; 30.00% showed good compliance; 43.28% were able to distinguish controllers from relievers in their own treatment regimens; the proportions of patients who didn't correctly use steroid containing metered-dose inhaler, reliever containing metered-dose inhaler, steroid containing turbuhaler and steroid containing accuhaler were 36.00%, 44.00%, 27.78%, and 23.81%, respectively; 14.29% of the patients kept an asthma diary but none was up to standard; 12.85% owned a peak flow meter; 88.57% judged their treatment outcomes only by symptoms; 51.43% were not aware of any adverse drug reactions of asthmatic medications. CONCLUSION: Asthmatic patients need to be more familiar with their medications. Meanwhile, they need to improve their medication compliance, inhalation technique and self management. Pharmacists should cooperate with other health care professionals and asthmatic patients to improve the asthma control standard in China.